United Party of South Africa

The United Party was a conservative political party in South Africa that was active from 1934 to 1977. The party was formed as a merger of the National Party, the South African Party, and the remnants of the Unionist Party of South Africa. The party was supported by English-speakers, Afrikaners, and mixed-race people ("coloureds"). Party leader Barry Hertzog opposed South Africa's participation in World War II as an Allied power, as the memories of the Second Boer War were still fresh in the minds of many Afrikaners. However, the majority of the party supported the Commonwealth, leading to Hertzog's resignation. In 1948, United Party leader Jan Smuts lost the election to the National Party, and the party would remain in opposition for the rest of its existence. The party merged into the New Republic Party of South Africa in 1977.